Conventional leash and collar animal training techniques, especially for training hunting dogs, typically involve a great deal of restraining and controlling an animal by applying tension to a leash attached to the animal. The amount of tension an animal trainer or handler must apply to the leash can be sizeable, requiring the handler to strain against the leash to exert control. This phenomenon can be problematic, particularly where a relatively small, frail, or physically impaired handler is working with an animal that is relatively large or strong.
In addition, animals sometimes respond poorly to corrective measures administrated by a human handler, especially where the handler is over-zealous or poorly trained. Such animals can become averse to human handling or correction, and may develop excessively submissive, aggressive, or otherwise untoward behavior regarding their human handlers. The risk of undesirable results is exacerbated when potentially harsh training devices such as shock collars are used. Even relatively benign training aids such as the Gentle Leader® Headcollar, which is effective at reducing excessive pulling by dogs on a leash, should be used cautiously and require close attention by the handler.
Training tables, which are commonly used for training dogs, are typically large and cumbersome, and therefore are generally not portable. Moreover, training tables still require that a human handler administer corrective measures that may cause an animal to develop a negative attitude toward its handler and other people.
Animal training using conventional techniques is also usually very time consuming; achieving a highly trained state in a hunting dog typically takes 3 months or more of intensive training. And certain behavior, such as getting a dog to consistently sit or stand facing a particular direction, or getting a pointing dog to stand while awaiting further command, can be especially difficult and time consuming to teach an animal.